Robinson Crusoe Island (CRC)

4 days / 3 nights or 5 days / 4 nights
Starts and ends Santiago

Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago

These remote craggy islands were a favourite haunt of pirates and in 1704 the Scots mariner Alexander Selkirk was marooned on the main island for over 4 years. His story inspired Daniel Defoe to write the novel Robinson Crusoe. There are also legends of hidden treasure. Robinson Crusoe is an authentic "Treasure Island".

The Archipelago was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1977 due to its scientific importance for endemic flora and fauna. There are around 130 endemic species of plant and amongst the endemic fauna is the Juan Fernadez Fur seal and the critically endangered Juan Fernandez humming bird.

Robinson Crusoe is the largest Island of the Juan Fernandez Archipelago which is found in the South Pacific Ocean, 420 miles off the central coast of Chile.

Attractions

Visitors to the island, the majority of which is a National Park, are attracted by its remoteness, the chance to walk and explore, the diving, its history and the flora and fauna. Here spiny lobster fishermen rub shoulders with treasure hunters, explorers with scuba divers and sea lions with wild boars.

The population is only 650, the majority of whom live in the main settlement of San Juan Bautista.

Accommodation is at the Crusoe Island Hotel which has recently been refurbished and whose 15 rooms all have private facilities and sea views. The hotel also has an open air pool, sauna, gym and offers a wide range of spa treatments.